Local time – 6.57pm, Sunday 17th June, 2011.
Prague, Czechoslovakia.
‘Holy fuck, tell him to wait!’ Spelman yelled into his phone. Leo and Edelstein stood by him. They had just passed on the information from Edelstein’s agents in London that Alex had been contacted. But the nuclear weapon was not yet in their control. Worse, far worse, it was about to be used. Spelman had got straight on the phone to his men in Washington, but from the conversation Leo and Edelstein were overhearing, it didn’t sound like he was managing to stop the action there. Too many people had been waiting for too long.
‘If he’s going on, tell him he can’t announce anything yet. Let him fill for a while. We’ll let him know when he can act.’ Spelman spoke hurriedly, like a man on the brink of losing it. He hung up abruptly, nodding to the men to let them know his suggestion had been accepted. The Bilderbergers now had nothing else to do but sit and watch. And that’s what the 131 men and women, including Douglas Johnson, did. The huge plasma screen in front of them drew their attention in, as if it was the most important moment of their lives. For most of them, it was.
The crowd at the Washington Monument had mostly calmed down after the bizarre announcement from Feck and Maxwell. Thousands more people seemed to pack the lawns around the reflecting pool. Even with the army’s presence, more people were arriving all the time. The news cameras scanned the crowd around the Lincoln Memorial, and zoomed to a stage at the bottom of the steps leading up to the grand columned building. Police had stopped protestors getting up the steps, and the stage was empty apart from a lectern with a microphone, silently waiting to be used. Leo and Edelstein ignored the excited cries of the news anchor when the camera caught sight of someone striding onto the stage. They already expected to see the sight before them. They smiled when they heard the crowd launch into cheers and screams. The President of the United States, Joe Santos, was alive.
One arm in a sling, Santos waved with his free hand. As he reached the lectern, four security guards appeared behind him. To say it was a rock star welcome was an understatement. The President stood for a good three minutes, waving and smiling, while he waited for the crowd to come to grips with what they were seeing. Only those thousands close enough to the Lincoln Memorial could actually make out that it was the President. But it took just moments for this news to spread to the rest of the crowd who wanted to know what the fuss was about. The gun rally wasted no time in letting the President know why they were there, launching into chants about his gun buy back scheme. But his supporters mostly reacted in a mix of shock and joy, some crying, some laughing, and many hugging each other in relief. Some picked up their phones, letting loved ones know the good news. Others jumped around in joy, punching their fists in the air. When all this commotion started to quieten ever so slightly, the President pulled the microphone to him. A hush rippled from the front of the crowd, all the way to the back, in anticipation of Santos’s speech. The news anchor fell silent too, letting his listeners hear what the President had to say. Leo allowed himself a small wink to Edelstein in celebration of the moment, though Edelstein did not look ready to smile back.
‘Thank you, everyone, thank you for your concern. This morning, I was incredibly lucky to survive an assassination attempt on my life. As you can see, I am not completely unscathed, but I have had surgery on the gunshot wound. The bullet went straight into my chest, exiting through the shoulder blade.’ The President spoke in his usual measured and calm style, speaking of his injury as one might speak of an unfortunate incident they had read about in the paper.
‘The shooter has been captured, and there will be an announcement soon from my Press Office about this regrettable situation. This is, however, not why I am here to speak to you today.’
The room of Bilderbergers seemed to collectively hold their breath, and from the silence coming from the television, the crowd was doing the same. The President now stood bolt upright, determinedly phrasing each word as clearly as the booming speakers would allow.
‘When I was elected President of this great nation, I promised many things. In recent weeks, my Republican opposition have been very actively publicising many of the promises I made, in an attempt to portray my government as having failed. They say we have failed the people of this country, who voted to fix America. They say we have fixed nothing. They say I am not the President of hope, but rather of disappointment. I am here today to tell you we have not failed. I am here to tell you that we have not only succeeded, but we have succeeded despite the naysayers who claim we cannot achieve our goals. This country will be great again. This country will not face the economic hardships it has faced before.’ There were some cheers, but the crowd was starting to get restless.
‘Despite what our enemies at home say, we will not slink silently away when things get hard. We will not turn our backs on the world when every nation counts on us to act. It is not just our large population, or our dynamic economy that make us a world leader. We are a world leader because of who we are. Americans are proud. We are strong. And we are innovative. In these times, when our common humankind is threatened by forces felt by every nation, it is we who must take up the challenge to not only help our international community, but to lead in progressive action to fight back against those problems that threaten us all. Nuclear Disarmament. Fixing our economies. Dealing with the effects of climate change. Confronting issues of overpopulation. Eradicating religious intolerance and racial hatred. Tackling poverty so that all children have an opportunity to live meaningful lives. These are the issues I dreamt of confronting when I made my bid to become your President. Not just for Americans, but for all humanity. I believe that if we lead from the front, and seek to mobilise for collective action, through consultation, compromise and negotiation, this is the first step in solving problems that threaten to damage all humanity. I stand before you today, not as the leader of a nation, but as a team member in a period of change which is going to mend our earth.’
Back in Prague, the Bilderbergers were quite. Only they could tell that the President was now using a pause to catch the eye of his staff members to the side of the stage. To the crowd, it would appear he was letting his words settle over them. But in reality, he was waiting for permission to get to the point. Until Spelman gave his staff the go ahead, the President had no choice but to continue, making an announcement, without announcing anything at all. Until the weapon in Pakistan was safe, the President could not take the risk that this one weapon could destroy everything he was about to announce.